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Optics Letters

Time-domain spectroscopy of molecular free-induction decay in the infrared

Ian R. Coddington, William C. Swann, Nathan R. Newbury

Published Apr 22, 2010• 97 citations
Publisher

Abstract

Time-domain spectroscopy using dual, coherent frequency combs is used to measure free-induction decay from a molecular gas sample in the near-IR with a time-domain signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 10(6) over a approximately 6 ns window at 55 fs time resolution (corresponding to the 9 THz source bandwidth) and a frequency/timing accuracy set by the frequency combs. The free-induction decay exhibits the expected periodic pulses from the rephasing of the multiply excited rovibrational levels. This demonstration represents the first high-resolution, high-accuracy, broadband measurement of optical free-induction decay, to our knowledge.

DOI
10.1364/ol.35.001395

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Time-domain spectroscopy using dual, coherent frequency combs is used to measure free-induction decay from a molecular gas sample in the near-IR with a time-domain signal-to-noise ratio of approximately 10(6) over a approximately 6 ns window at 55 fs time resolution (corresponding to the 9 THz source bandwidth) and a frequency/timing accuracy set by the frequency combs. The free-induction decay exhibits the expected periodic pulses from the rephasing of the multiply excited rovibrational levels. This demonstration represents the first high-resolution, high-accuracy, broadband measurement of optical free-induction decay, to our knowledge.
A new feature of optical free induction decay (FID) is observed in a coherently prepared sample of 13CH^{13}\mathrm{CH}13CH3F_{3}\mathrm{F}3​F by the method of Stark switching. The preparative phase is due to the resonant steady-state excitation by a cw laser beam, and is followed by FID upon sudden application of a dc Stark field that switches the molecular sample out of resonance. The emission is not observed as a simple decay but instead appears as a train of sharp pulses regularly spaced in time as a result of a repetitive interference. This situation arises because an entire set of infrared transitions within the Stark split manifold are initially prepared, in contrast to our previous study of a nondegenerate transition. The emission, which beats with the laser, produces a heterodyne beat spectrum, consisting of a set of regularly spaced frequencies, that is the Fourier transform of the slowly decaying pulse progression observed. We thus demonstrate what is the optical analog of the well-known NMR method of high-resolution pulse Fourier spectroscopy. The detailed behavior of the pulse train agrees well with an FID theory that assumes the transitions to be uncoupled. The subtle behavior of FID near the time origin is explored also by approximate analytic expressions that reveal either a near zero amplitude or sizable amplitude depending on the degree of saturation in the preparative stage. The experimental technique discussed offers an attractive way for obtaining high-resolution optical spectra without Doppler broadening, and for generating an optical pulse train whose time scale can be compressed by simply increasing the Stark field.
In recent years, frequency-comb-based multidimensional coherent spectroscopy has emerged as a very powerful optical method for studying samples with long dephasing times. It enables the measurement of comb resolution multidimensional coherent spectra in seconds as opposed to hours or even days required by traditional mechanical stage-based spectrometers. However, for some samples (e.g., cold atoms and molecules) the dephasing times could be longer than the repetition periods of the excitation lasers which means that the generated signal will not fully decay between the pulses. Depending on the relative phase or time between the pulses, the signals generated by the subsequent laser pulses can constructively or destructively interfere with each other. In this paper we study this behavior by solving the optical Bloch equations and provide a theoretical description of frequency-comb-based multidimensional coherent spectroscopy.
By using the concept of stochastic excitation, a multichannel optical spectrometer was developed with an inherent spectral resolution in the kilohertz domain. Stochastic optical fields are obtained by phase modulating a frequency-stabilized Ar+ laser with a pseudorandom binary sequence. This sequence is characterized by an autocorrelation time of 5 nsec, with a resulting excitation bandwidth of approximately 200 MHz. A signal related to an optical free-induction decay is obtained after cross correlating the response of the system with the time-delayed stochastic excitation sequence. The performance of the spectrometer was demonstrated by observing Doppler-free transitions of molecular iodine.
Optical frequency combs have enabled distinct advantages in broadband, high-resolution spectroscopy and precision interferometry. However, quantum mechanics ultimately limits the metrological precision achievable with laser frequency combs. Quantum squeezing has led to substantial measurement improvements with continuous wave lasers, but experiments demonstrating metrological advantage with squeezed combs are less developed. Using the Kerr effect in nonlinear optical fiber, a 1-gigahertz frequency comb centered at 1560 nanometers is amplitude-squeezed by >3 decibels (dB) over a 2.5-terahertz bandwidth. Dual-comb interferometry yields mode-resolved spectroscopy of hydrogen sulfide gas with a signal-to-noise ratio nearly 3 dB beyond the shot-noise limit. The quantum noise reduction leads to a twofold quantum speedup in the determination of gas concentration, with implications for high-speed measurements of multiple species in dynamic chemical environments.